Page 2 of Declan
“Unlikely,” I answered, focusing back on my phone. “He’d probably tell you to keep your day job.”
A pillow smacked me upside the head.
“Jerk,” he said.
“Ass,” I shot back.
It was our thing.
“I’m hungry. Wanna order a pizza?” Brysen asked, making no move to get up.
“I’m assuming I’ll be the one ordering it?”
His hazel eyes reflected his smile. “I’ll take a cheese with extra sauce.”
“You’re lucky that I love you,” I muttered as I scrolled through the contacts on my phone and found our favorite pizza joint.
I called and placed the order before leaving the bedroom. It was hard to believe that someone as small as Brysen could make such a huge mess. Dishes were everywhere, all over the counter and piled high in the sink. Dishes I had washed and dried earlier that day. He’d made himself lunch and had used every fucking pan and skillet to do it.
Don’t kill your best friend, you love him,I kept repeating to myself as I started cleaning the mess.
“Need help?” he asked, popping up to my right.
I jumped and almost dropped the plate.
“Why so jumpy, Kye?” Brysen teased before drying the plate I’d just rinsed. “I told you I’m, like, ninety-five percent sure this place is haunted.”
“The only thing haunting this apartment is you,” I muttered, scrubbing burned chicken off the skillet. “Go turn on the news. Royal should be on soon.”
Brysen bounced over to the living room, which was only like five feet away because our apartment was tiny as fuck, and turned on the TV. A cheesy sitcom was playing, but would be over in a few minutes.
I continued cleaning the kitchen, rolling my eyes at the stupid dialogue in the show. I could write a better script. I doubted I had any real talent for acting; I felt more comfortable behind the screen. Writing, however, was something I felt I was great at. I had a shitload of ideas. The hard part was getting someone to listen to them.
“Good evening, Addersfield,” Royal announced after the introduction music to the program. “I’m Royal Henderson, and you’re watching Channel 4 news.”
“How does he always look so perfect?” Brysen asked, plopping down on the couch.
I wiped my hands on the towel and walked into the living room. Royal wasthe pretty onein our trio. I wasthe smart oneand Brysen wasthe slutty one. The beauty, brains, and the wild child.
With his black hair, piercing pale-blue eyes, sharp jawline, and strong build, Royal looked like a real life Prince Charming. Which was kind of ironic, given his name.
“His hair and makeup team?” I said, sitting on the couch beside a curled-up Brysen.
He gently kicked my side. “Smartass.”
The other news anchor was a woman named Beth. She always wore low-cut shirts and seemed to flirt with the camera no matter what kind of news story she was covering. Royal told us that even after he’d told her he wasn’t interested, she still hadn’t backed off. She had a boyfriend now, but that didn’t stop her from the occasional brush of her hand on Royal’s or the propositions in the dressing room.
“That hussy should be fired,” Brysen said. “She’s not even good.”
“Yeah, but Royal said she’s banging the director,” I pointed out. “So, it doesn’t matter.”
“Thank you, Jason,” Royal said as the camera panned back to him after the weatherman told us that rain was expected that night. His voice was smooth, not too deep, and soothing. I’d often told him he should narrate audiobooks. “Award-winning actor Declan Price should be arriving in Addersfield tomorrow morning and people can’t contain their excitement. Crowds are already gathered outside his hotel. Heather has more on the story.” The screen split to show a pretty blond bundled in a light jacket and standing outside the town’s only five-star hotel. “Heather, what’s it looking like there?”
“Hi, Royal,” Heather said after several seconds of silent nodding. “Well, you can feel the excitement here. It’s not every day that a Hollywood heartthrob like Declan Price makes his way into Addersfield. I talked with some of the fans earlier, and this is what they had to say.”
A video then played of Heather’s interview with them. Women of all ages gushed about Declan and how they couldn’t wait to catch a glimpse of him. Some talked about his previous movie roles and how much they loved the films, and others could only talk about how hot he was.
“That’ll be you someday,” Brysen said with a silly grin. “Kyler Michaels, hotshot extra in movies, visits small town and makes all the women want to have his baby.”
